We had the good fortune of connecting with Angela Zeng and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Angela, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
My path to founding Karviva wasn’t a sudden leap, it was a slow-building conviction. I grew up in a family of traditional Chinese herbalists, where the idea that food is medicine wasn’t a wellness trend, it was daily life. I later trained as a medical scientist and spent years inside the pharma, food and beverage industry, and what I saw troubled me: products designed around marketing, not meaningful health outcomes. Shelves full of “wellness” drinks loaded with sugar, artificial ingredients, and claims built on hype rather than evidence.

I kept coming back to what my family had always known: that centuries of TCM had already figured out how to use plants, balance, and intention to support the body. The science backed it up. The industry just wasn’t doing it.

So in 2017, I founded Karviva to close that gap. My goal was simple: bridge Traditional Chinese Medicine and modern nutritional science into clean, plant-powered beverages that actually work. No gimmicks, no restriction, just the ancient truth that nourishment, done consistently and intelligently, is the most powerful medicine we have.

Two women smiling, one holding a microphone, in an indoor setting with a screen in the background.

Two women stand behind a counter with colorful bottles of beverages, in a modern kitchen studio setting.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Karviva was born from a conviction, not a trend. I spent nearly three decades studying food science, Traditional Chinese Medicine, and working inside the food and beverage industry, and what I kept seeing was a wellness world built on marketing rather than medicine. Shelves full of products that looked healthy but weren’t. I knew there was a better way, because my family had been living it for generations.
What sets Karviva apart is our foundation: every product is rooted in both modern nutritional science and TCM principles that have proven themselves over centuries. No added sugar, no artificial sweeteners, no gimmicks. Just clean, plant-powered formulas that actually support digestion, immunity, hydration, and recovery.
Was it easy? Absolutely not. Breaking into retail as an independent, science-driven brand, without the marketing budgets of the big players, required relentless persistence. I had to earn every placement, every press feature, every customer. What carried me through was the belief that if a product genuinely works, people will feel the difference and come back.
Today, Karviva has sold over one million bottles across 2,000+ retail locations, earned the 2025 World Beverage Innovation Award, and been featured in Forbes, Bon Appétit, Bloomberg, and USA Today. I’m also finishing my first book, The Balance Cure, launching June 2026.
The lesson I’d pass on: build something true. In a crowded market full of noise, integrity is the most durable differentiator.

Two women sitting on a couch, smiling, holding bottles of orange-colored drinks, in a bright room with large windows.

Woman and girl laughing outdoors, holding bottles, sitting on wooden chairs with green trees behind them.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
St. Louis doesn’t always get the credit it deserves, but locals know, this city has real soul.
I’d start my friend’s visit with local coffee shops, we have many good ones around the city, and lunch at Taco Buddha, creative, vibrant, and one of those places that just makes you happy to be in a city with good food.
For culture, the St. Louis Zoo is a must, and I may be biased as a board member, but it’s genuinely one of the best free zoos in the country. Pair that with a morning walk through the Missouri Botanical Garden, which is breathtaking in any season and a quiet reminder of how powerful Nature really is.
Of course, I’d make sure to share some Karviva along the way, because no visit to St. Louis is complete without a taste of what we’re building here.
St. Louis is a city of makers, growers, and community builders. Once you experience it, you understand why so many of us choose to stay and build here.

Three people and a dog on a bed, holding orange bottles, smiling, in a bright room with plants and shelves.

Man in wetsuit drinking from a bottle on the beach with a surfboard, ocean in background.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My shoutout goes to my dear friend Sophia Wan, the wife of our local church’s priest, who lost her battle with breast cancer. Sophia never did anything for herself; every single day, she was giving her time, her spirit, and her positive energy to everyone around her: taking elders to shopping trips, to the hospital, welcoming incoming international students, providing shelter and food to those in need, and much more. She embodied the kind of selfless love that quietly makes a community whole.
It is in her memory that I created Karviva Sprouts of Hope, a whole plant juice made with the green plants I believe make a real difference in wellness. Five cents from every bottle sold is donated to Pink Ribbon Good in her honor.
Sophia reminded me that the most meaningful things we build are the ones we dedicate to others. Every sip sprouts hope.

Website: https://karviva.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/karvivawellness/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/angelazeng1/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/karvivawellness/

A wooden tray with cheese, grapes, strawberries, bread, and spreads on a marble surface.

Four bottles of fruit-flavored drinks on a striped towel, with a blurred sandy background.

Image Credits
Karviva

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutAtlanta is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.